Your company’s culture can affect the workforce and make them either more productive or less productive. Of course, you want the best service from your workforce that you can get, and that will only be achieved if they are content in their work. A pleasant and encouraging workplace culture is what you need to aim for.
Openness
An open culture will make your workers more trustful and should be the building blocks for any workplace culture. Make sure you have the latest communication tools, and that they are used by everyone. They all need an easy way to connect with each other, and to share any information that needs to be passed on.
Openness will also lead to collaboration. Let the workers know the challenges you and they face. Let them know the successes as well. Sharing these things can be a huge boost for motivation and morale.
This does not mean you have to tell them every time you have a cup of coffee. It just means that as far as the business is concerned they feel involved. Involved employees will work harder to achieve the goals set for them, and in turn that will make your company more profitable.Some employer’s use workforce management software to empower their employees, and this is a very successful option too. Think about what will work best for you and then use it – every company is different and every staff will have different motivations.
Recognise And Reward
Studies have shown the companies that have a culture where a valuable contribution is recognised and rewarded have a far lower turnover of staff. Training new employees in the ways your company work is an unnecessary burden that you could do without, but it costs UK businesses many millions of pounds every year.
The best recognition is not always from the top. It can mean even more when peers and other co-workers recognise that something special has been achieved.
Rewards do not have to be huge either. They are just to show that you appreciate the effort that has been made and to start with you should be saying a simple ‘thank you’. Showing your appreciation is what is needed.
Encourage Working Together
A team that works together will achieve more. Good relationships between workers are not automatic, but should be encouraged. Let them know that you are happy with this so they do not all scatter to their own workstations when you enter the room.
Some employers engage in team building exercises to purposely encourage this type of workplace culture. These can range from short games of problem solving or much larger events where they spend a few nights away. Whichever it is, the whole point is to teach your staff that working together has advantages that they can utilise in the workplace.
Team building exercises often show up who the leaders are, and if you find someone has this quality, let them lead a small team in the workplace and see how they do. Some people thrive on the extra responsibility and if they prove to be successful you could have a very valuable member of your workforce.
Promoting a team atmosphere can show the employees that you care about them as well as the work, and that can do wonders for morale.
Give Regular Feedback
Once a year appraisals are not enough for the average business. You need to give feedback to your employees all the time. If they do not know that you are unhappy with something, they will not change it. But of course, not all feedback needs to be negative. Positive feedback is just as important and you should chat to the team as a whole on a regular basis.
If you do this and one particular worker is letting the team down, you will soon find that the other team members will make sure that stops and that their team is brought up to scratch.
When giving the feedback, you should also provide them with extra support if it is needed. Criticising is not enough. If there are solutions to the problem, help them to find them and then they will feel that you are on their side.
Be Flexible
What all employees have to remember is that their employees have a life outside of the workplace. They are humans who will have off days, or who will need to take an hour out sometimes to take a child to the dentist.
You need to be flexible in these situations just the same as you do when someone needs a little extra help. These sorts of things will happen all the time, and research shows that employees who work for a flexible employer are shown to be the happiest.
Make Sure They Know Your Core Values
Knowing the core values of the business you are working for is vitally important. You do not want to employ someone who cannot carry out their job for ethical reasons, they would be happier elsewhere. Before you offer anyone a job make sure they are aware of your core values to avoid an unpleasant situation further down the line.
Work At It!
Having the workplace culture you want does not just happen on its own. You will have to work hard to make your employees work how you want them to and to maintain the atmosphere and culture you have achieved.
A recent survey of almost 4,000 employees showed that two of the most important factors in their job was flexibility and being recognised for their efforts. But these two things are not enough on their own. The other things that came near the top were promotions and trust.
To have a productive workforce you need a happy workforce and need almost to make it like a family atmosphere where everyone helps everyone else. No one should be afraid to approach you to voice any concerns they may have or to tell you any ideas they have come up with. Just make sure you listen carefully to what they have to say, as they may well have noticed something that you have missed.
Keeping your staff happy can be the hardest part of running any business, but without them you would have big problems. Work at it and you will reap the rewards.
